YUBA COUNTY
GENEALOGICAL NUGGETS
Round Cape Horn :
voyage of the passenger-ship James W. Paige, from Maine to California in the year 1852;
BY J. LAMSON.
BANGOR:
PRESS OF O. F. & W. H. KNOWLES.
1878
CHAPTER VIII.
CAPTAIN J. seems to be actuated by only one object, namely, to make a
profitable, voyage for his employers, regardless of the rights or comforts of
his passengers. And any little concession he makes to the demands of his
passengers,--and these concessions are few and far between,--any little change
he makes for the better in our fare, any thing he does to alleviate the
discomforts of our voyage, is done with extreme reluctance, and seldom without a
dispute or a serious quarrel. Let me finish with the picture I have begun of the
man. He has the frame of a giant, six feet two inches high. His fist is brawny
as the paw of a grizzly bear, and his foot is a terror to shoe-makers. He is
ungainly in his figure, and awkward and ungraceful in every movement and
gesture. He has a coarse, vulgar, morose cast of countenance, is distant and
repulsive in his manners, gross and vulgar in his tastes and conversation, and
fond of repeating profane and obscene jests and anecdotes. He is exceedingly
obstinate, willful and unyielding, which qualities he mistakes for independence
of mind. He boasts of his indifference as to what is said of him, and yet
manifests an extreme sensitiveness when he is made the subject of a jest.
Notwithstanding his long continued intercourse with the world, he has learned
nothing of human nature, and he thinks to govern men by fear and brute force,
rather than by reason, persuasion or kindness. There is nothing conciliating in
his disposition, but in all his discussions with his passengers, he talks in a
spirit of rude dictation and of defiance. He seldom speaks a kind word to his
sailors, and has acquired the hearty hatred of them all. He hates Dana and his
"Two years before the Mast," because Dana's sympathies are enlisted on the side
of the oppressed men, and against tyrannical ship-masters. He hates Edward Kent,
our Consul at Rio, for the same reason. He is strongly tinctured with those
superstitions that characterize the ignorant portion of his class. In politics
he is a rabid loco-foco, a blind worshiper of Andrew Jackson, whom he has been
taught to call a second Washington. But his chief political knowledge consists
in a number of slang phrases and slurs, which he threw out with great liberality
in the former part of the voyage, but which were answered in a manner that
taught him a little circumspection in the use of his favorite weapons. Such is
the man, to whose arbitrary will we are bound to submit during this long voyage.
But we believe him to be a cautious and skillful navigator; and if we see in him
a total absence of every characteristic of a gentleman, of every qualification
requisite to make an agreeable commander of a passenger-ship, we are happy to
find some compensation for these defects in his watchfulness and care.
July 6. Approaching the harbor of Talcahuana, we saw a large broken yard with
several ropes attached to it, floating within a few rods of the ship. From the
fresh appearance of the fracture, I perceived that it had recently been broken.
A casual remark dropped by one of the passengers, that some vessel had probably
been wrecked in one of the storms we had lately encountered, and the spar was
passed and forgotten. But what a history of suffering and despair may there be
connected with that spar! Perhaps it belonged to our acquaintance at Rio, the
North America. She may have been wrecked on this coast, and her five hundred
souls have been sunk in the waves or dashed on the rocks. In their efforts to
save themselves, may not some of them have been lashed to this very yard?
Perhaps, as the vessel went to pieces, and one after another was swallowed up,
the lives of a few may have been prolonged beyond those of their fellow
sufferers. And oh! what an hour of horror must that have been to them! What
thoughts of deep and bitter anguish did they send to the homes they had seen for
the last time, and to the wives, daughters, mothers, sisters and friends, to
whom they had bidden farewell forever! What ages of intense agony must have been
concentrated and endured in the few hours, perhaps minutes, those sufferers lay
lashed to that spar, and saw, one after another, their companions expire! May
not this vessel have been lost in one of the storms that nearly drove us up on
the coast of Patagonia? How near may we have been to sharing the same fate with
them? And may we not, even now, after having escaped so many dangers, be
reserved for the same or a worse doom? Such or similar reflections naturally
arise in one's mind at the sight of a floating mast or spar at sea. I have often
seen them, but never before one so new, and bearing such certain indications of
a recent shipwreck.
We are in a state of excitement consequent on approaching a port after our long
voyage, and there is much preparation making for going ashore; washing, which
has been but slightly performed during our cold passage, shaving, and cutting
hair. Our chests and trunks are overhauled, and clean shirts and the best pants
are selected. It is "washing day" too with the women, who have obtained some
fresh water for their purpose. Even Mrs. L---t, who has hitherto manifested a
very idle disposition, has gathered up a quantity of her child's garments, and
proves that she is not incompetent to perform the duties of the wash-tub, while
Captain J. stands like a sentinel over her, engaged in a low, but earnest
conversation, attracting the attention, and exciting the remarks of the company,
by his ridiculous manifestations of a silly lover's foolish fondness.
The sight of a landscape is always delightful to me, but it is particularly so
after having been so long at sea. We have had many views of the coast during our
passage from Rio, but they have been only those of naked and barren rocks,
desolate shores, and snow-covered mountains. Now we begin again to behold
symptoms of vegetable life. The sides of a high hill we have passed, though
there is no sign of a human habitation near it, have the appearance of
cultivated fields and thick forests. And some of the trees have a shade of light
green, reminding us of fields of wheat in Maine, and suggesting many thoughts of
home to us. Yonder, as far as the eye can reach, is a point of land rising to
the view. And as we approach it, there are seen two beautifully rounded hills.
We have examined the chart, and find these hills to be the "Paps of Bio-bio,"
and Talcahuana lies several miles beyond them. We had hoped to reach that port
to-day, but now we find the distance too great to be accomplished by daylight,
and as Captain J. has never been there, he will not risk the passage by night.
So, despite our impatience, we have no alternative but to sail up to the
entrance to the harbor, and lay off and on till morning.
July 7. We entered the harbor of Talcahuana at ten o'clock in the morning, and
spent the remainder of the day in beating up to the town against a head wind, a
distance of about twenty miles. Our entrance to this port was signalized by a
very interesting event, nothing less than my first sight of that monster bird,
the Brown Pelican. (Pelicanus fuscus.) A great flock of sea birds were hovering
over the water, and centering to one point, probably attracted by some substance
on which they were feeding. The passengers watched them with great interest. We
sailed very near them before they left the spot, when, to my great
gratification, I saw a dozen pelicans, with their immensely long bills and great
pouches, rise up and fly away with the flock. Never before had I seen such an
unvieldy bird on wings, and it seemed a wonder that it could support such a
ponderous body in the air. But though ungainly in their appearance, they flew
with considerable velocity, and sustained their great weight and bulk with much
ease. Our company were all strangers to the bird, and with one exception none
could tell its name.
We dropped anchor within half a mile of the town amidst a fleet of twelve ships
and barks, several of which belonged to the United States. We were immediately
visited by the captain of the port, who was an Englishman, attended by other
officials, Chilians. We also received a call from three other gentlemen,
American merchants, formerly from New York, Massachusetts and Ohio. They came on
board to solicit business. By invitation from one of them, Captain J. went on
shore, and passed the night with him; and the next day he took his chere amie,
Mrs. L---t, to the same house, where they tarried till we sailed. It was
gratifying to meet thus unexpectedly, a number of our own countrymen in this far
distant port, and to learn, as we did, that several other Yankees were residents
here.
July 8. A number of Chilian boats were along-side in the morning for passengers.
We speedily filled them, all of us eager to land, our curiosity being highly
excited in anticipation of the new and strange things we were about to behold in
this pretty town, as it appeared to us from the ship. Judge then of my
disappointment when on landing I found myself in the most filthy and disgusting
village I ever beheld. A row of ill-looking houses, huts and shops stretched
along the bay for nearly a mile. Three very narrow, parallel streets ran the
length of the village, and were crossed at right angles by other streets still
narrower, and all filled with deep mud and filth. A few large warehouses,
stores, and dwellings, stood in the front street, but all with a very few
exceptions, only one-story high; and in no single instance was there the least
pretension to architectural beauty. The houses were generally built in long
ranges or blocks, and so low that we could touch the eaves as we passed them.
There were also great numbers of little huts made of stakes driven into the
ground, interwoven with twigs, and plastered over with mud. A roof thatched with
coarse grass completed the dwelling. Many of the better buildings had their
roofs covered with coarse tiles. Besides the large warehouses I have mentioned,
which all belonged to foreigners, there were many little shops containing a
plentiful supply of liquors in bottles, and some articles of dry goods. An open
space for a square was left at the back part of the village. To this square the
inhabitants retreat for safety in case of earthquakes. It was destitute of trees
or any other ornament. There was not, I believe, a single tree in the town; but
many clusters and thickets of shrubs grew in the fields and on the hills, and
gave a pleasant appearance to the country when viewed at a distance. There were
great numbers of houses of entertainment, and from the signs hung out, one might
readily judge what nation contributes to their support. At any rate, it is
amusing to see an American in a far distant foreign port, to read in every
street, such signs as the following: California Hotel, American Hotel, American
House, New Bedford House, New York Restaurant, Eagle Hotel, &c. I went into
several of them, and found them so excessively filthy, that despite the keenness
of my appetite, I could not eat, and made up my mind that I must go back to the
dirty bark for my dinner. But in the course of my rambles, I saw several of our
ship's company standing at the door of a house of a better description than most
of those I had seen. The walls of this house bore the imposing sign, "Tremont
House." I could not resist the temptation to go in and inspect the premises.
First and foremost was a large bar well stocked with liquors. But as this was
not the principal object of my search, I passed on to the dining-room, where I
saw a table covered with a clean white cloth. My resolution was formed, and I
immediately booked my name for dinner. The hour for dining was two. But before
we sit down to the table, allow me to introduce the proprietor of the house, and
give you a description of his dining room and furniture. Our landlord was a
Yankee, and had been during many years master of a ship, till he anchored in
this port, took a Chilian girl for his wife, and turned Boniface. We dined in a
large square room lighted with two windows secured by iron grates, and set in a
stone wall nearly three feet thick,--these thick walls and iron grates, as well
as the single story in which the houses are built, being a necessary protection
against earthquakes. The windows were shaded with cotton curtains, red and
white. There were large, coarse, double doors like those of a warehouse, the
floor was paved with large tiles, and the uncovered beams were festooned with a
profusion of cobwebs. A pile of boxes lay in one corner, a quantity of boxes and
barrels surmounted by an X bedstead, loaded with old saddles, occupied another
corner, rude side-tables with more old casks and boxes under them, and a dining
table with the clean table-cloth aforesaid, set for twenty-five persons, with
the same number of chairs, which had been imported from Yankee Land,--these
constituted the furniture of the dining-room of the Tremont House, Talcahuana,
Chili. Our company were unanimously of the opinion that this style of furnishing
an eating-room was open to criticism; but we were not disposed to be fastidious
or captious; and had we been so, the display of the dinner upon the table would
have completely done away all disposition for fault finding. Macaroni soup,
roast beef, roast wild ducks, corned boiled beef, potatoes, beets, squash,
bread, pudding, &c., and wine. With such a bill of fare before us, we quickly
lost sight of the surroundings. It was marvelous to witness the disappearance of
these luscious viands before twenty half starved mortals. But there was no lack
of it, and all were satisfied. The food was of an excellent quality and well
cooked. In fact one of our own fellow-passengers expressed a decided preference
for this dinner to a ten quart tin pan full of scouse on board the James W.
Paige. I made a hearty meal of roast duck, washed down with a copious draught of
weak wine, a production of the country. Thus pleasantly terminated my ramble in
search of a dinner. And if any thing could overcome my chagrin at being landed
in this contemptible place, it would be such a dinner with such an appetite.